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Knoblauch's Twins HOF invite revoked



It was not that long ago that the Minnesota Twins announced that Chuck Knoblauch would be entering their franchise’s Hall of Fame.  There was a ceremony that was to take place on August 23rd before their home game, but that has been officially cancelled in wake of the alleged allegation that he assaulted his ex-wife.


This is not the first time that the former Second Baseman has had domestic issues.  He was convicted of hitting a previous wife in 2010, and received one year’s probation for the assault. 

In Minnesota, Knoblauch earned four All Star nods and the 1991 Rookie of the Year Award, the same season he won the World Series with the Twins.

This is one of the first times that we can remember that a Hall of Fame invite was revoked.  Constantly, and this is regardless of the sport, we learn that our heroes are not necessarily worthy of our adoration and when these events occur, debate will ensue as to whether that athlete should have his Hall of Fame induction pulled.

The best example is when O.J. Simpson murdered (sorry, we are not going to say allegedly) his ex-wife in 1994, he was not removed from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, or the Buffalo Bills Ring of Honor.  There were articles and a small movement looking to remove O.J. from those honors, but that movement never gained any steam. 

The Twins for that matter had Kirby Puckett, who entered the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 2001.  Shortly after Puckett entered Cooperstown, stories of Puckett’s indiscretions came out, mostly through a Sports Illustrated article though there was never any consideration to remove Puckett from the Baseball Hall of Fame, or the Twins Hall of Fame.

It is uncertain at this time, whether the Minnesota Twins will ever reinstate the Hall of Fame induction of Knoblauch.  The Twins organization can either be praised for how they recognize that character matters or jeered for how only on field accomplishments should matter.

With all due respect to Knoblauch, it is not like this is Harmon Killebrew, who was a much bigger star in the Twins canon, so perhaps the decision was not a hard one.  Either way, we wonder if this will create a precedent that other franchise Halls of Fame will follow. 

Last modified on Thursday, 19 March 2015 18:47
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